Everything Is Ending
by TrappedGenius
Summary: A series of short one-shots about the days following the Ponds' departure. Doctor/River, Complete.
1. Sorry

**A/N: This is a multi-chapter fic consisting of a few short drabbles in the days following the Ponds' departure. **

**This first one happened pretty recently after they left, and I wanted to write it since the episode aired. Because when River hurt her hand, I sobbed. Nowhere near as much as I did at the end, but still.**

**I like to think this is a conversation the Doctor and River had at one point, because it was certainly one they needed to have.**

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"You shouldn't have done it," the Doctor mumbled. They were sitting in the TARDIS. Amy and Rory had been gone for a few hours now. They hadn't said much; there was too much to say and not enough words to speak.

River lifted her head from the book she was reading. "Done what?" her voice was still soft, still full of compassion. She had been treating him like he was going to break at any time, and he hated it. Even if it was true. He felt like he was going to break.

"Your hand. Your wrist. You shouldn't have..." he sighed, unable to find the words. "You shouldn't have done that. And you shouldn't have hidden it from me."

She smiled up at him. "How else did you suppose I could have got out? Even you couldn't have done it, sweetie. Like you said, it would have changed the future even if I could have found a way."

"I don't care about that," the anger was rising up inside of him again, threatening to spill over the edges all at once. "I don't want you to hurt. And I don't want you to feel like you have to hide the damage."

Hair bouncing, she laughed humourlessly. "I've had much worse."

"You shouldn't have!" he shouted.

Silence.

He rubbed his face. "You shouldn't have," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"I understand. It's okay for you to be angry," she told him.

No, not for that, he wanted to tell her. I'm sorry for all the damage I cause. I'm sorry for the pain. I'm sorry for the end.

Instead, he nodded jerkily. A thousand words hung unsaid in the air, begging for release.

But after a while, sorry lost its meaning. There were only so many times that they could be accepted, apologies, even if the meaning from the giver never changed. In the Doctor's case, each apology he gave her was more sincere than the last. Because each thing he did was worse than the last.

He picked up the last page of the book. Amy's letter. Rereading it again. Again. Again. Reading the same words for what seemed like hours, until he no longer needed to look at the page. The words were tattooed at the forefront of his thoughts, and tears clouding his vision now made it impossible to make out the blurred letters.

"Doctor? Doctor!" River's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He realised she'd been calling his name for a while, and looked up.

She began to talk, but the words caught in her throat as she saw the single tear dripping down his face.

"When you go back," he told her. "Tell them I'm sorry."

Sorry.

What a silly, useless word. It never quite meant enough.

"Yes," she nodded. "Yes, of course."

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**The next drabble will be the Doctor telling Brian.**

**TG**


	2. Explanation

**A/N: Yup, it still hurts. I keep rewatching old episodes, which only seems to add to the pain. Oh dear.**

**Well, anyway... I don't own Doctor Who, and any reviews you have time to leave make me indescribably happy.:)**

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Leaves were swept along streets by autumn gusts of wind, dancing along the pavement together. The street was quiet. The houses silent. A bird chirped in the distance.

Suddenly a noise disrupted the silence, a loud, obnoxious siren as a blue police box appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. The leaves swirled up around the object, twirling and twirling before coming to rest as the sound stopped.

Almost immediately, a front door was thrown open. A man ran out of one of the houses, a grin on his face as he sprinted towards the box, gasping for breath.

Brian Williams smiled as he thought of how Amy would hug him as soon as she stepped out of the door, how he would pull in his son - despite the man's protest - and just know they were okay.

It had been a year since they had left. He'd started to get worried. But of course, the Doctor had promised to keep them safe, and how could he ever have doubted him?

He waited for the door to open, for the hugs and insisting that he was not crying, that he had something in his eye.

The door opened.

The Doctor stepped out, a woman he had never seen before in his wake. "Hello, Brian." the man said with a sad smile. "It's been a while, I expect?"

"Almost a year," Brian responded eagerly. "Where's my son and daughter-in-law, then?"

Eyes flashing, the Doctor lowered his head. When he looked up, his expression was unreadable. "Can we go inside?"

Brian's eyes flickered to the woman.

"Oh, yes, sorry. This is River Song, otherwise known as Melody Pond." the Doctor introduced them. "River, meet Brian. Brian, meet River. Now, inside?" He walked up to the house quickly.

"Wait!" Brian called after them, hurrying behind. "Where are they? And did you say Pond?"

"It's a long story," the Doctor sighed. He turned around suddenly. "And I'm sorry, but it doesn't have a nice ending."

The man could've sworn he felt his heart stop dead. "Well, of course it doesn't," he chuckled, trying to lift the mood, _hoping... _"Endings are never nice."

Five minutes later, the three of them were sitting in Brian's living room, all sipping cups of tea.

"Well," Brian said after a while. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

The Doctor put his mug down carefully, glancing at River. She reached out and took his hand.

"First of all, Brian... Well, I'm not sure how to tell you this. This is River Song, or Melody Pond. She's your granddaughter."

Brian almost choked on his tea, swallowing hurriedly before shouting, "She's what? But that's impossible, Amy can't have children, can she?"

"I'll start from the beginning, shall I?" the Doctor asked, leaning back into his chair. And so he told him their story. Everything. He told him about the Silence, the flesh, Demon's Run. All of it. He explained River's regeneration, how she was once Melody Pond, the Ponds' best friend, and how they had grown up together. He left out the par about how they were married, so almost everything.

When he was finished, Brian looked strangely calm. "Well, that's... certainly news," he coughed. "But why didn't Rory and Amy ever tell me?"

The Doctor smiled. "The thing about River Song is... Well, actually, there's lots of things about her. She's really, really-"

He was cut off by a not so subtle cough from River herself, and he looked up to see Brian staring at him suspiciously. "Right, anyway. The point is that she used to be in prison for murder, so it was kind of hard to-"

"Murder? What do you mean, murder?" Brian had gone deathly pale.

"Oh right, I left out that bit, didn't I? Err, she killed me. Twice, actually. Well, three times if you count... But she didn't actually kill me. Just forget about it, doesn't matter," the Doctor waved it aside.

The man nodded, still obviously confused. "Okay..." he said slowly. "So where are Amy and Rory?"

He felt River squeeze his hand. "I'm so, so sorry, Brian. They're gone." he felt sick himself as he said the words out loud, the wound was still sore and it still hurt.

"What do you mean, they're gone? Where did they go?" Brian asked, refusing to believe that they were - no. No, he had promised, they couldn't be-

For the first time, River Song - his granddaughter - spoke to him. The Doctor had his head in his hands, so it was up to her to explain. "They got sent back in time, to New York. There was nothing we could do. They lived out the rest of their lives, but today..." she didn't need to finish her sentence.

Standing up, Brian shook his head. "No," he said. "No, I don't believe it. How could they be gone? You have a time machine, why couldn't you go and get them?"

"It would have ripped the world apart," the Doctor said, voice muffled by his hands.

He shrugged. "So?"

River laughed. "That's exactly what Amy said. Rory was taken first, and so Amy went with him. He tried to get her to stay, but she couldn't leave him." she glanced at the Doctor.

"So I'll never see them again? I'll never see my son and daughter-in-law again?" the old man asked, feeling numb.

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor quietly.

They were quiet for a moment. The Doctor took his head out of his hands with a sigh, appearing to be in deep thought.

"I'll get them to write you a letter. I have to go back, I have things to do, books to publish." River told him. "I'll bring it to you when I come back."

"Thank you," he told her sincerely. He wasn't quite sure what she meant about having books to publish. Maybe she was an author.

Silence again.

"Well, we'd better go." the Doctor stood up. "Thank you for the tea. And I'm sorry."

He just kept apologising, this man. And Brian felt bad for him. "I don't blame you." _And you shouldn't blame yourself, _he added silently.

The Doctor offered him a weak smile. "Goodbye, Brian Williams."

River took his hand again, and they walked out of the door. Brian ran up to the window, watching them walk to the TARDIS. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't quite know what to say-

His mind went blank when she leaned forward and kissed him lightly. It only lasted for a second, but that was not the sort of kiss you gave to a friend. Wait...

"Hey!" he walked quickly down his path, and they turned around. "Are you two...?" he let the unfinished sentence hang in the air.

River grinned. "Goodbye, grandfather. I'll be seeing you very soon."

And with that, they disappeared into the box.

Brian watched as the siren blared once more, the police box slowly fading away as the leaves danced around it.

Yes, they had gone. But they were together. And still... he would never see them again, he thought with a pang in his chest.

And he had a granddaughter.

Head aching, he went back inside to make himself another cup of tea.

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**Next drabble will be the Doctor and River's first sort of... Trip, if you like, sans les Ponds. **

**Until then, this is another not so subtle reminder to please leave a review. :)**

**TG**


	3. The Beautiful Uncut Hair of Graves

**A/N: Hello again, my lovelies! This chapter was sad and fun to write at the same time. It's sort of like a weird mixture of angst and fluff. I'm still not over TATM, and just received some pretty awful spoilers from the glee fandom, so I want to curl up into a ball and cry. But I must persevere! Yes, my life does not end just because a fictional character's (relationship) does. *whispers repeatedly while curled up in a ball, crying*.**

**Anyway! I don't own Doctor Who, and reviews are quite possibly my favourites.**

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"Do you think they ever had a proper funeral?"

The question startles River, and she looks up at the Doctor. They're sitting in the smaller library, squashed up on a tiny loveseat in the way that never feels to make them both feel a little more complete, to make all three hearts beat a little faster.

She closes the book she was reading. "Maybe. It was probably just a sort of burial, though."

And that was that.

At least, for a day or two. The majority of the next couple of days were spent in bed, not doing anything, just simply holding each other and revelling in the other's company. It seemed that sometimes, they looked past what it all meant, and in the midst of all the adventures and universe-saving, it was easy to skip the emotion-y stuff, being rather busy stopping an alien from taking over, or the earth incinerating. But for the next two days, they could simply be. No fighting. No running. Just them.

On the next day, they rose and went to the control room. River insisted on flying the TARDIS, pausing only in her pulling of levers and pushing of buttons so swiftly and elegantly it almost looked like a dance - well, to him anyway - to ask him where he wanted to go. "Wherever you want," she reminded him with a smile.

He had smiled back at her, with far more life and hope and something that she couldn't quite place than he had three days ago. "I want..." he hesitated, not in a way that made her think he was unsure about what he was about what he was about to say, but in a way that made her think he was unsure about how she was going to feel about it.

River said nothing, simply continued to smile at him reassuringly until he continued.

"I want to give them a funeral," he finished. He'd never really understood funerals. But he wanted to say goodbye, properly that is. He wanted to tell them that he was sorry, that they had the best times, that they were his best friends ever, period. Only then could he start to heal.

Seeing this, she didn't question him as she usually did. Of course, she was almost always right. Still. She simply nodded. "Okay."

He chuckled slightly, for the first time since - well, they'd left. She looked at him inquisitively. "I don't think you've ever answered 'okay' to me before," he explained.

"Well," her eyes twinkled, mostly at seeing him laugh again. "There's a first time for everything, isn't there, sweetie?"

Head dropping down again, he murmured to himself. "Yes, there is. And a last."

She pulled another lever, and they were off.

"Well then," River stepped outside of the TARDIS doors, and there it was.

The gravestone. Barely a day old, and already stained with drops of rain that almost looked like tears. The coffin was in the ground, but the ground had not been filled in. Obviously they hadn't gotten round to it yet, and didn't want to work in the rain.

The Doctor stepped forward, feeling his wife's comforting hand on the small of his back as he approached the front of the stone. It rose to the top again, the anger, the grief, the self-hatred, and yet, this time, it stayed trapped inside.

He startled as he realised River was talking to him. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No, stay. Please." his eyes begged her, and she knew what he meant. Stay forever. Travel with me.

It was impossible, and yet it broke her heart to see him like this. She simply nodded, taking his hand.

He sat down on the grass, and she followed.

"Hello again, Ponds," he said, a sad sort of smile in his voice. "I -" his voice broke for a second, but then River squeezed his hand, and he was fine. "I wanted - no, I needed to say goodbye. Properly. So, here we are. And this is how it ends." he chuckled.

"I want you to know that I'm glad you went with Rory, Amy. Miss Amelia Pond. I'm glad you went with him because he makes you happy in a way that travelling with silly old me never could, even though he is absolutely not nearly as cool as me."

River smiled as the Doctor spoke. In that moment, she'd never loved him more. This was hard for him. She knew that. Still he smiled, laughed, even if there was an underlying tone of sadness.

"I hope you took care of her, Rory the Roman. Wait. Of course you did. I know you did, and that's what makes it okay. It's okay because you lived well. And you lived together, you simply just were, and that is so much more than I ever could have gave to you."

He didn't realise he was crying until a tear dripped onto the ground, landing on a single blade of grass. He plucked the blade from the ground, turning it over in his palm. "And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves," he murmured. River glanced up at him quizzically.

"Walt Whitman? Don't tell me you don't know Walt!" he said to her. "Walt was great, he was, such a nice chap, great, great fellow, did I tell you about the time-" he babbled.

"Doctor," she said softly, cutting his babbling short. "It's okay to not be okay."

Glancing up at her, the right side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. "I could say the same to you, Miss River Song."

"That's Mrs River Song to you, sweetie." she elbowed him gently.

Still smiling, he pulled her towards him. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, and he let his head rest on hers. And with that, he felt the lump in his throat shrink and the pain in his hearts lessen. He dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head.

"I know I have the best of time and space - and that was never measured, and never will be measured." she whispered into his ear, and he held her closer.

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**Quote at the end, and the name of this chapter, are from Walt Whitman's epic poem Song of Myself, my second favourite poem. Just thought I'd let you know:)**

**A not so subtle reminder that reviews are pretty fantastic.**

**TG**


	4. Almost Beginnings

**A/N: Tumblr is down today, so you get another shockingly fast update! Just a couple more chapters and an epilogue to go after this one. Can you believe TATM was a week ago now? It still hurts.**

**I don't own Doctor Who, and reviews would be very nice...;)**

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It had been a week since the Ponds had left, and River was still with the Doctor. Of course, she knew it couldn't last. She had to go. If she didn't, so many of the things he still had to come would never happen, and she just couldn't stand that.

So she decided it was time. Time for him to find someone else, and time for her to say goodbye.

Trying to do it subtly, she'd taken them to 21st century Britain - not wanting to break the tradition - to a time when she knew something wasn't quite right. He was bound to meet someone. He always did. And that person would most likely fall head over heels for him, and he'd be oblivious, or would just be someone special who wanted to see the stars.

And she would _not _get jealous. Because he should never be alone. And he needed someone else, even if it was a young, attractive female.

Here they were. Manchester, Earth, 2012. River landed them, her shoulders sagging for a fleeting moment before she straightened up. The Doctor had let her fly the TARDIS for the past few days, for once. But really, he just didn't feel like doing it himself. It was nice.

Once they landed, she turned to him. "Ready to go?" she asked with a smile.

He sighed. "I know what you're doing, River. And if you had talked to me, I would have told you that I'm not ready yet."

Of course he knew. He always knew. "I'm sorry," she told him truthfully. "It's just... You know I can't stay much longer, sweetie. And when I'm gone, you need a pretty 21st century British girl to keep you company, don't you think?"

He'd smiled a bit, which had been her intention, but she could see he wasn't going to come. "I don't want to find someone else yet. No one's going to replace them, no one ever could, and anyone I met now just wouldn't be..." he trailed off, frustrated.

"They are always different. Unique. Special. It's part of the reason why I don't travel alone. But they do break my heart, and it always hard to remember why I don't just be alone at the end," he explained. "But I just can't right now. Even if - when - you go. I need to be by myself, at least for a little bit."

She listened quietly, sitting down next to him once he'd stopped talking. "I just don't trust you alone. Whenever you're alone, something blows up, and it's probably a planet or yourself. They keep you in check."

"They're the best of me," he agreed.

"No," she shook her head. "They bring out the best of you."

He didn't reply for a while. When he did, she barely heard him. "You know what I want."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I do. And you know that it just isn't possible, my love."

"Of course I know that," the Doctor responded. "But you know that I laugh at the word impossible."

Laughing, she shuffled closer to him so their knees were touching. "Just like I said: Whenever and wherever you want... But not all the time."

He huffed in frustration. "Not loving the 'but' so much."

"Sorry, sweetie."

"I think we've had enough of sorry to last several life times, don't you, Doctor Song?" he nudged her.

She nudged him back, harder. "That's Professor Song, how many times?"

"Sorr- I mean, oh yeah. I kind of forgot. What with everything... Umm, congratulations," he said a little awkwardly, patting her back.

"Thanks," she smiled sincerely. "Now how about we go outside?"

He looked at her warningly. "River..."

"Oh, come on. Please? I'm not saying you have to find someone. But something is going on out there, and I think they need a Doctor to fix it." River fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Scowling, he stood up. "Fine. Fine! But you're not allowed to make fun of my sonic screwdriver or shoot things."

She winked. "Oh, I can't make any promises."

Kissing her on the cheek, he ran outside.

She stood still for a moment, watching the TARDIS door close behind him. She'd have to go. And soon. It was already becoming dangerous for her to stay, and she knew if she didn't go soon, it would be harder to leave when she did.

Mind you, it was always hard to say goodbye to him, knowing the next time she saw him, he would know her a little less and she would know him a little more.

They both hated endings, because they'd had their fair share.

River shook her thoughts away, following her husband into the unknown.

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**This is your usual obnoxious reminder that I like reviews**.

**TG**


	5. The Bad Things Don't Spoil Good Things

**A/N: Hello again! I'm seriously considering making this fic longer. There was only going to be a couple more chapters - mainly because I have like 4 other WIPs to write - but people really seem to like it. So, what do you think? Right now, it's just kind of linked one shots but I could make it have some sort of more substantial plot, I've got a few ideas that I've always wanted to do by themselves I could kind of string together. Leave me a review telling me what you think!:)**

**Oh, and I just quickly wanted to say that the title of this fic comes from the name of a song by Chameleon Circuit, who are the best trock band ever and if you don't know what trock is what is your life? Youtube them now! Anyway.**

**I don't own Doctor Who and stuff.**

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It's cold. Very cold, and very windy, and River quickly realises that she shouldn't have taken them to Britain in Autumn due to the... Changeable - for want of a better word - weather. It would probably start raining soon, and her hair would get wrecked. She sighed.

The Doctor was sitting on the pavement, in front of a newsagent. Dabbing the ground hesitantly, he licked his finger. River rolled her eyes. "Do you have to do that? It's really not sanitary, sweetie."

"Well, I have to make sure the ground tastes normal," he replied absentmindedly, studying the concrete.

She raised her eyebrows. "Of course, silly me. I'm so sorry I forgot we had to lick the ground every time we go somewhere."

"Don't worry about it!" he grinned at her.

Sarcasm was completely wasted on him. Of course, she should have known that from past experience. "Right," River nodded slowly. "Well, anything to report on the flavour of the ground?"

"Nope," he pulled himself up, straightening his jacket. "All seems good. But listen..." He held up a finger, and so she listened.

"It's too quiet," she realised. "We're in the middle of London, where is everyone?"

The Doctor smiled, clearly enjoying this. She felt herself smile at his happiness, it had been a while since he'd been this happy, maybe he was moving on. And that was good. He wouldn't forget them, of course - he never forgot anyone - but it was nice to see that he was no longer hurting. "Well, that's what we're going to find out. Come on, Miss River Song!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street.

"It's Professor, how many times, sweetie?" she yelled as they ran.

They ended up running through over a third of London without seeing a single human being. Everywhere was literally deserted, and it just didn't make sense.

"Okay," the Doctor let go of River's hands, bending over and breathing heavily. "I think we can stop now."

River nodded. Even she was out of breath. "We should go somewhere that's always busy. Harrods or something like that."

"Right, okay. Good idea." He spun around and started walking in the opposite direction, then stopped and turned around, only to turn again. "Err, what way...?"

She looked at him blankly. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, it's pointless anyway, no one's here." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This is a bit boring, isn't it?"

"Boring? The entire population of London has disappeared!" she said indignantly.

"Yeah, but why? Where are the daleks? The cybermen? The spaceships? Rubbish! There's probably just a... Thing," said the Doctor, waving his hand dismissively. "Well, we're not going to meet anyone here. Shall we go?" He turned around when she didn't respond, but there was no one there. "River?" he span around, but she still wasn't there. "River!" he yelled, panicking.

The street was now completely empty. "River!" he shouted again, as loud as he could. His hearts were racing, his mouth dry and his mind whirring. _What if she had been kidnapped? What if she was gone forever? This _wasn't _how it ended, _he knew that for sure. _What would happen if she was gone? What if-_

A laugh. A loud, unmistakable laugh that he most definitely knew. Relief flooded through his body, quickly followed by anger. What the hell was she thinking? Running off, scaring him to death like that? Marching off in the direction of the sound, he felt increasingly angry. "River Song, I'm going to bloody strangle you!"

Down an alleyway. Across the road. Down the street that - hey, this seemed kind of familiar. He spotted a head of curls and jogged over. "You better have a good reason for running off, River, because-"

River was talking to an elderly man wearing a bobble hat and sitting in a booth. A man that he definitely knew.

"Wilf!" exclaimed the Doctor. The man turned with River.

"Hello, sweetie," she smiled. "I was just chatting with Wilf here, I didn't know you two had already met."

The Doctor nodded earnestly, then noticed Wilf's confused expression. "Oh, right. New face, sorry. But it's me!"

Wilf gasped, pointing his finger. "No, it's not you. It can't be you..."

"Oh, it's me." he smiled at his old friend.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" he leaped off his stall, hugging the Doctor tightly. "What happened? No, don't answer that."

The Doctor patted Wilf's back. "How is she?" he murmured in his ear.

"She's fine. Great, actually. Married, even has kids now. Who would've thought, eh?" Wilf chuckled.

"Good, good." A tiny bit of him relaxed. The Doctor always worried about everyone who left him, or who he left behind. Knowing Donna was happy made him happy. Donna deserved to be happy. _That's a lot of happies, _he thought.

River studied him curiously. He'd never mentioned Donna before, and why would she have asked him? Talking about the past just made him sad. And he had a lot of past, a thousand years of it.

Then again, when he was with River, the future was also the past. And that was something he couldn't stand to think about. So they just concentrated on the present.

"Wilf was telling me that everyone had left London because it's Christmas. I was just asking him what he meant when you showed up," said River, casually.

The Doctor nodded in realization. "Ah. Well, bad things tend to happen at Christmas in London. But good old Wilf always stays, don't you, pal?" he grinned.

Wilf nodded. "None of those bloody aliens can keep me away! No offense," he added quickly to the Doctor.

"None taken. Well, we'd better be off."

"Already?" Wilf asked.

"Well, yes. You know how it is. Places to go, people to meet, planets to save... But it was very nice to see you again." _Nicer than you'll ever know, _he added silently, shaking Wilf's hand earnestly. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll see you next Christmas."

"I'll be here," Wilf grinned at them. "Goodbye, Doctor. And nice meeting you." he added to River.

The Doctor saluted him, before taking River's hand and turning around. His face had fallen, and he sighed as they trudged through the streets, back to the TARDIS.

River looked up at him. It was times like this, when he looked so very old, so very tired. There was nothing she wanted more than to take away all the bad things, until he could be happy always. "Do you - want to talk about it?" she asked him hesitantly.

He stopped, turning to face her, eyes fixed upon her thumb lightly stroking his hand. "No. I don't think I do."

She leaned forward, resting her hand on his face to tilt it up towards her. "I'm sorry. This trip was supposed to make you happy... I always do mess things up," said River, frustrated with herself.

Smiling at his wife, he shook his head. "Oh, my silly River Song. Knowing Wilf and Donna are okay makes me happy-" She would have to ask about them sometime, she decided "- Seeing how London is safe this year makes me happy. And you make me very happy indeed." He kissed her lightly to prove his point.

"Oh, you soppy git," she laughed at him once they'd pulled apart.

"Oh, you know you love it," The Doctor mimicked her.

"Maybe I do," she said flirtatiously.

He took her hand again, and they started to walk through the streets once more. "Of course you do. Now, how about a spot of lunch? I'm hungry. And, do you know what I fancy? Fish and chips!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "London's deserted, how exactly do you plan to find an open fish and chip shop?"

"Did I say in London? There's a fantastic chippy on Asgard, I should take you there more often. Fish and chips on Asgard, how about that, River Song? We could have a picnic!" he babbled, almost skipping through the streets.

She looked up at him, amused. "Sounds wonderful, sweetie.

They approached the TARDIS, and after unlocking the doors, he gestured for her to go ahead. He ran in after her, approaching the controls with a smile. "Picnic it Asgard it is, then."

And with a pull of a lever, they were off.

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**Yes, that is a reference to Silence in the Library - an episode which is so much more painful to watch now because now River is my favourite EVER. Anyway. Sorry for the wait for the updateage. Remember to review telling me if you'd like me to make this a story with an actual plot!**

**TG**


	6. Picnic on Asgard

**A/N: Hello again! I've decided not to make this story too long, mainly because I'm working on like 5 other WIPs. So after this chapter there will be one more. It's kind of an epilogue. I was thinking about writing the visit to the Singing Towers, but it's a bit too angsty for me. Plus, we know lots more happens before that. He tells River his name - though I guess that could happen then... Anyway. Maybe I'll write a oneshot. Who knows?  
So here we have it, the picnic on Asgard! **

**I don't own Doctor Who, or, umm, Norse mythology? Pretty sure that belongs to Marvel now anyway...**

* * *

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Doctor murmured, leaning against the TARDIS as River stood a few feet away.

She looked up at the sky. The mountains seemed to go on for eternity, wrapped up in the wisps of clouds dotted across the blue. A rainbow unlike one she had ever seen before stretched across the whole planet, going towards the towering city in the middle. River had always loved rainbows. You were unable to tell where they began or ended, and she was much like the Doctor in that they both hated endings and beginnings. Well, one beginning was the other's ending, so for them, it was... Wibbly wobbly timey wimey, as the Doctor would put it.

"The Garden of the Gods," she said softly in reply. "The place of safety reached-"

"-By a rainbow bridge," he finished." She turned, and he smiled at her.

Then she frowned. "I must say, sweetie, this doesn't really seem like somewhere that would have a fish and chips shop."

"Are you saying I was wrong?" He spluttered.

"Well, yes."

He shook his head at her. "Ye of little faith! I'll assure you that Vangard has one of the finest fish and chips shops across and outside of the galaxies. After the last time I visited, they made some great improvements. They even have a zoo now - what?"

River was looking at him expression that seemed to say 'Oh, for god's sake. He's done it again'. "Sweetie," she began. "How do I say this? Oh yes. We're not on _Vangard. _We're on _Asgard. _Home of the greater Norse gods? Not Vangard, see?"

"Ah," he said after a moment's hesitation. "Yes. Sometimes I get some of the nine planets mixed u, you know. Which wasn't so good when I wanted to go to Midgard and ended up on Hel..." He trailed off, remembering the adventure. "She was perfectly understanding, though. Well. That's a lie. She tried to execute me... Anyway, story for another day?" He finished awkwardly, phrasing it is a question.

River raised an eyebrow. "Right... Just one thing, sweetie..."

"Way ahead of you," he replied, opening the TARDIS door. "I'll be two minutes." He ducked inside, and she watched as he disappeared.

Sighing, she sat down on the grass. At least there was a nice view... She sat waiting for him, playing with blades of grass absentmindedly.

* * *

He reappeared moments later, a massive grin on his face, a blanket rolled up under his arm and a wicker basket in his hand. Practically skipping up to her, he threw the chequered blanket onto the ground. "Picnic!" he announced happily, looking very proud of himself.

"You soppy git," she laughed, rolling onto the blanket nonetheless. His face fell slightly. "I'm just joking, sweetie. It's very romantic." she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

The Doctor straightened his bowtie. "Well, I am prone to be romantic now and again."

She mock gasped. "You are? Spoilers!"

Wrinkling his nose in confusion, he turned to her. "What do you mean, spoilers? I'm always romantic!" he sniffed.

"Of course you are, sweetie," she agreed, opening the basket to find...

Oreo. Sandwiches. "What. Is. This?" she spluttered. "I can't eat these? Do you want me to get fat?" She closed the basket again.

The Doctor reopened it, pulling out a sandwich, which, on closer inspection, was full of Oreos and... Nutella. Disgusting.

"It's delicious!" he insisted, Oreo crumbs spilling out of his mouth and onto the blanket. She shuddered.

"Sweetie, I am not kissing you ever again if you eat... That."

His eyes went wide, and he moved to spit out the mouthful of 'food'.

"Joking!" exclaimed River quickly. "You can eat whatever you want. Just don't expect me to join you.

Swallowing, he looked at her mournfully. "But... River..."

She turned away so his 'Puppy Eyes' wouldn't affect her. "No! Absolutely not!"

He moved closer to her. "Pleeeeeease," he begged, dragging out the 'e'. "Please. Please. Please. Please. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEA-"

"Okay!" she shouted, giving up. "Fine, just stop. You can be really annoying, you know that?"

He just grinned at her. "Don't worry, River. You'd still look beautiful fat."

She snorted. "That's an interesting compliment." Taking a hesitant bite of the sandwich, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from moaning out loud, it was that good. Fattening, unbelievably so, but also really, really good.

"So?" the Doctor asked. "What do you think?"

She shrugged. "Meh. It's okay."

The Doctor's eyes twinkled. He could almost always tell when she was lying now, which was kind of worrying, because she'd have a lot of lying to do in the future , or past, depending on your perspective. "I'll have the rest then, if you don't really like them."

"Well, maybe just one more?" she asked casually. "After all, I don't want to put on weight."

"Well then maybe that's not such a good idea- oof!" The Doctor got cut off as River punched him 'lightly' on the shoulder. "I was kidding!" he added hastily.

"Mhm," she rose her eyebrows. "You better have been, sweetie."

He smiled, shuffling up on the blanket to get closer to her. They sat in silence for a moment, and then the Doctor sighed. "You're going to have to go soon, aren't you?" he asked her, sounding so sad that River just wanted to tell him no, she wasn't going to leave, she'd never leave.

But she couldn't.

And it broke her hurt.

So instead she took his hand, put down the sandwich, and looked him in the eye. "I'll be there whenever you need me, sweetie," she told him, and that was all she could promise him.

"I always need you," he grumbled. "I need to moan at you for using the stabilisers. I need you to moan at me for not using at them. I need us to argue about how flies the TARDIS better, even though we both know it's me. I need to make you bad cups of tea, and I need you to get mad at me when I mess up your hair after you spent half an hour styling it, even though we both know you don't mind." His voice broke a bit as he continued, "And I need to tell you stories about Amy and Rory you've already heard, except for the ones with you in, even though those are the best ones." He dropped her eyes.

River blinked the tears away from her eyes, and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I wish I could tell you that one day, we'll have that, but we both know that it's not going to happen. And that's rubbish, but it is."

He nodded. "I know." He rubbed his head, then smiled. Dropping a kiss on the top of her head, he jumped up, pulling her with him. "How about we explore the City of the Gods, then?" he offered her his hand, and she took it, never wanting to let go.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, it's NaNoWriMo month so everything is crazy! Literally, I can never remember the majority of November because I lose my mind.**

**TG**


	7. The Not-Goodbyes

**A/N: Long time no see! Sorry about that, I've been super busy but now I'm back with the last chapter of EIE! I thought I'd finish this a lot sooner, but oh well. And this epilogue-y thing is kinda short, but I wanted to leave it here. I didn't want to overdo it. So yeah.**

**Now this has finished, you can go check out my fic The Not So Timey Wimey Stuff if you like, 99 percent of the chapters are Doctor/River centric and I think I'm going to start updating that every day again.**

**This ending is kind of sad, but I tried to make it a happy-sad. Hopefully I succeeded.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who!**

* * *

Today was River's last day on the TARDIS.

They hadn't spoken about it, but the Doctor just _knew. _He could tell by the way she sat, the way she acted cautiously around him, not even teasing him about his supposedly bad flying skills. And he wanted to ask her to stay. So, so badly. But she couldn't, and he wouldn't make her say no.

And so, ever the confrontation avoider, he acted as if he didn't know.

Did she see through it, his act? He wasn't quite sure, but he thought so. They both knew, then, but didn't want to talk about it.

And that was okay. They both hated endings, after all.

So that day was spent like any other. They did not go on an adventure, merely sat in the TARDIS together, the Doctor testing something on the time machine and River reading.

After a while, he stopped and turned to look at his wife. She appeared entirely absorbed in the book she was reading, and didn't glance up once.

What were they doing?

He did not like goodbyes, they both did not like goodbyes. But this wasn't how he wanted to leave River, for who knows how long, with the memory of this day.

And he was tired. So, so very tired of being alone, and of regrets.

This day would not be one of them. Not just for him, but for her, too.

"River?"

She looked up, then, expression unreadable. "Yes, dear?" her voice was light and playful, but the Doctor could hear the slightly strained way in which she replied.

"I-" he swallowed, taking off the goggles he had been wearing to protect his eyes from sparks and walking over to her. "I - what are we doing?"

That wasn't exactly what he meant to say. But she understood. She always understood.

River sighed, moving her book aside. "I don't know," she admitted. "We both know, we both know I'm... Leaving."

He sat down next to her. "Yes. But I don't want this," he explained, gesturing around them. "I don't want to remember you like this."

Her eyes softened. "I'm not going forever, sweetie, " she reminded him.

"I know!" he added hastily. "I know, but when will I see you again?"

She grinned suddenly, the smile lighting up her face in a way that made his heart twist a little. "Spoilers."

"You and your bloody spoilers," he nudged her, smiling all the same, the smile of an old man who knew life's great lie.

She nudged him back. "It was your idea, you know."

"Was it?" he racked his brains. "Ah, yes. Hitler in the cupboard. But I got it from you!"

"No," she told him. "No, we got it from each other."

And suddenly everything was okay, and it didn't matter that River was going. Because they both knew they'd see each other soon, very soon, because let's face it: they couldn't stay away.

So when the Doctor takes River to her latest house on Earth, for once, they don't say goodbye. They exchange 'See you soon's, as they always do, because it's true.

And when she's walking out, and he's standing in the doorway, she turns suddenly, her expression uncertain.

"Wait for me?" she asks him."

"Yes," he says, still smiling at her. "Always."

* * *

**Like I said, short. And also ridiculously cheesy.**

**Be sure to check out TNSTWS!**

**Until next time - whenever that may be,**

**TG**


End file.
